President comments on Tennessee candidacy

NIU President John Peters released the following statement over the weekend in response to news that he has been nominated for the presidency at the University of Tennessee:

“Last month, I was nominated to become a candidate for the presidency at the University of Tennessee. Given the extraordinary openness of the UT search process, all expressions of interest require nominees to publicly accept or decline their nominations at a very early stage. Respecting both the letter and the intent of this requirement, and in keeping with my practice of fully informing the NIU campus of my actions, today I am publicly affirming my interest in further discussions about the UT presidency.

The University of Tennessee is one of our country’s great public universities. Its presidency is a system-level position, overseeing four campuses, a medical school and many research centers and institutes, as well as the education of more than 42,000 students. I was honored to serve UT as provost, and more honored still to be considered for its presidency.

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Former NIU General Counsel George Shur has been appointed to serve as interim athletics director while NIU conducts a national search to find a permanent replacement for outgoing A.D. Cary Groth.

Shur, who served as NIU’s head lawyer for 20 years before retiring last year, also served 20 years on the university’s Athletic Board. His background includes extensive work on personnel matters, student issues, Title IX and NCAA regulations.

"George will be an invaluable help to me and to senior staff in Athletics as we work through this short transition period," said NIU President John Peters. "He knows the university, knows Athletics and is highly regarded throughout the university for his knowledge, expertise and commitment to NIU."

For his part, Shur says the temporary appointment is "a labor of love."

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Wei Luo, an NIU professor of geography, is leading a new study that aims to shed light on whether cold, desolate Mars has a wet, warm history that might have been more hospitable to life.

Luo’s team is examining the Red Planet’s extensive dry river valley networks to determine whether they were shaped predominantly by flowing rivers or by the action of groundwater, a process of erosion known as groundwater sapping. The valley networks are located throughout the southern highlands of Mars.

“The topography of Mars holds secrets to the planet’s climate history dating back billions of years,” Luo said. “Determining how the valleys formed on the Martian surface will begin to unlock those secrets and have important implications in the study of whether the planet ever could have supported life.

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Imagine a Thursday night class that lasts nearly five hours.

OK, so maybe that doesn’t sound so appetizing. But what if the class included dinner? A really good dinner?

Sixteen students in the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences are taking an international journey of the taste buds this semester in “Cultural Foods,” a 400-level elective class offered for the first time in years.

The classmates learn about various cultures of the world and their cuisine, and spend their Thursday nights either cooking and eating the topic du jour or visiting one of the area’s many ethnic restaurants for a chef-prepared meal with explanations of each dish and stories from the homelands.

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Talk in Springfield of a new requirement that could compel state universities to report annually on steps taken to cut utility costs was welcome news at NIU.

After all, who doesn’t like a chance to brag a little?

By using tools such as performance contracts and learning how to purchase gas and electricity in the recently deregulated markets for those commodities, NIU has saved more than $9.3 million over the last two years alone.

“Looking for ways to save money on energy costs is not a new idea for us,” said Robert Albanese, associate vice president for finance and facilities for NIU. “We have been working to trim those costs for years, and we have developed some fairly sophisticated tools to assist us in that process.”

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NIU has been selected as one of 10 colleges and universities nationwide to become a member of the newly formed National Electronic Portfolio Learning Coalition.

English Professors Michael Day and Bradley Peters wrote the proposal for membership.

The American Association of Higher Education Research Forum and Clemson University’s Pearce Center are coordinating the coalition. It will bring together representatives from each university twice a year during the summer to design, share and extend their research on the learning that takes place inside of and around digital portfolios.

The participants will collect information about electronic-portfolio learning initiatives at their home institutions and together develop research questions that will help all members better document the learning that takes place when students “collect, select and reflect” on their own work in electronic portfolios.

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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Awareness Month at NIU offers a slate of new and traditional events throughout April.

Popular performers and speakers who have visited NIU before are returning to showcase their new work. In addition to these NIU favorites, new acts and events will round out a busy month of events.

Musician and singer Gregory Douglass, who performed on campus in February of 2003, will be returning with a new performance showcasing his new independent CD, "Pseudo-Rotary." New to NIU will be a drag show and party featuring the Chicago Kings at 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 9, in the Holmes Student Center Duke Ellington Ballroom.

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NIU will celebrate Asian and Asian American Heritage Month with a wide variety of activities in April, including brown-bag lectures, a career workshop series, a fashion show, an outing to an Asian neighborhood in Chicago and the popular “Taste of Asia.”

“The activities are designed to meet the needs and interests of Asian and Asian American students, faculty and staff,” said Michelle Bringas, program coordinator for NIU Asian American Resources. “We’re also looking to raise awareness about Asian culture and heritage at NIU.”

The Career Workshop Series, geared especially for freshmen and sophomores, will be held each Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Brown Bag Lecture Series will be held at noon Fridays in Room 110 of the Campus Life Building.

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Phil Young, a research scientist in geography, has been honored.

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RedBall Project comes to NIU

It’s big, it’s red and it’s popping up unexpectedly on campus and in town. It’s the RedBall Project.

Join artist Kurt Perschke in exploring and noticing our unique local architectural spaces through the punctuating drama (and humor) of the giant red ball.

A Museum without Walls project, presented by the NIU Art Museum with the support of the Fine Arts Committee of the NIU Campus Activities Board, Perschke will be in residence working with NIU students, both art and non-art majors, through Saturday, April 10. -- MORE

Huskie Pup Camp
registration begins

Registration begins today for NIU’s Huskie Pup Camp, a recreational day camp for children ages 6 to 12. Ten weeklong sessions are offered from June 1 through Aug. 6. Camp hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Huskie Pup Camp provides children with an exciting, well-rounded summer experience. Children participate in arts, crafts, sports and games and go on a variety of field trips to local attractions. Experienced, caring counselors, many of whom are pursuing degrees in education, lead these activities.

Campers can attend one or more of the 10 session; each week is different and filled with activity. -- MORE

DeKalb Area Women’s Center
features NIU student exhibitions

Two NIU students are this month’s featured artists of the month at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center.

The galleries are open from 7 to 9 p.m. Fridays and at other times during special events. A closing reception will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 30, and is free and open to the public. -- MORE

NIU Percussion Ensemble
plans ‘world’ concert

The NIU Percussion Ensemble will present its world percussion concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 8, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building. Assistant Professor Orlando Cotto will direct with the assistance of graduate students Mark Breen and Ben Wahlund.

Audience members will hear a variety of world percussion music from Brazil, Cuba, North America and Puerto Rico.

The concert is free. For more information, call 753-7891 or 753-1546.

Vermeer Quartet presents
‘Seven Last Words’

The world renowned Vermeer Quartet will present Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Seven Last Words of Christ” at 8:15 p.m. Friday, April 9, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building.

Quartet members Marc Johnson and Richard Young will offer a pre-concert lecture at 7:15 p.m. in the concert hall. Father Andrew M. Greeley, a Catholic priest and professor of social sciences at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona, is the evening’s guest speaker.

The Vermeer has played “The Seven Last Words of Christ” across the world. Since their first “live” broadcast of this work in 1988 over Chicago’s WFMT radio, more than 100 different speakers have collaborated with the Vermeer, including some of the most renowned religious figures in the English-speaking world. Their performances have by now reached an estimate 75 million listeners.

The concert is free. For more information, call 753-1546.

Nominations sought for
2004 graduate TA awards

Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center has established Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards to acknowledge and recognize outstanding graduate teaching assistants for their contributions to NIU's teaching mission.

The nominations can be submitted by the head of the unit or designee and are due by Friday, April 9.

Five copies of each nomination should be submitted to Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards Committee, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, 240 Gilbert Hall. -- MORE

NIU Latin Jazz Ensemble
to perform spring concert

The NIU Latin Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Assistant Professor Orlando Cotto, will perform its spring concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 10, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall.

The concert is free and open to the public. Call 753-1546 for more information. -- MORE

NIU Jazz Ensemble hosts
annual spring jazz concert

The NIU Jazz Ensemble will play its annual spring jazz concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 15, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom.

The concert features vocalist Catherine Moody and jazz great Byron Stripling on vocals and trumpet.

Admission is free. Call 753-0643 for more information. People interested in reserving seats for their bands should call Lynn Slater at 753-1546. -- MORE

NIU theater continues
storytelling tradition

When the NIU School of Theatre and Dance presents its seventh annual Storytellers Theatre from April 15 to 18, audiences will be treated to both modern and classic stories told by students who have spent the semester learning the craft.

Storytellers Theatre runs April 15-18 at the Corner Theatre in the Stevens Building. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. All tickets are $3 and are available only at the door. -- MORE

FY04 cut-off dates

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